Summer 2014 - Reseeding America

Vol. 9
Issue 1
Reaching the US
Hispanic Population
by Chris Phillips
Jaime—Saved
Alcohol free for 2 years
It has been a privilege for us to be able to be a
small part of those that are carrying the light to
the Hispanic world. We served in Cuba and the
Dominican Republic for seven years. God established
the Grace and Truth Baptist Church in 2003 in Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic, and it is still growing
and winning souls under the leadership of BIMI
missionaries Mike and Anna Doering.
In 2006 God led us to continue our church planting
efforts, and by faith we founded Iglesia Bautista
Victoria (IBV) in Charleston, South Carolina. While
we have seen tremendous victories in the lives of
many, there are some definite challenges for the
Hispanic community here in the United States.
Cultural — In addition to the obvious
Apolinar & Irma
He is a converted Jehovah’s Witness.
differences in language and lifestyle, Latino
families are often divided in the sense that
the children speak primarily English while
the parents speak mainly Spanish.
Reseeding America is a ministry of Baptist International Missions, Inc.,
assisting local churches and their missionary church planters in the starting of
new churches and the restarting of churches in decline across the United States.
www.reseedingamerica.com
National Reseeding
USA Director
America Representative
Bob Larson
Dr. John Bailes
423-605-6098
423-605-4020
[email protected]
[email protected]
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Reseeding America – Summer, 2014
Legal — We seek to evangelize and
disciple every Latino who comes across
our path. Immigration Reform is an
ongoing issue but we must not ignore the
spiritual condition of 17% of the United
States population.* Since IBV began, over
30 undocumented Hispanics have come
through our ministry and then returned
to their home countries equipped with
Bibles, discipleship resources, and tracts.
Flea Market Outreach
Balloon sculptures, face painting, Christian
tracts and literature given out
Spiritual — American materialism,
coupled with the fact that 70% of
the Latinos in the United States are
Catholics** by heritage, greatly increases
the difficulty of showing them their need
of a Savior.
Through sound Biblical teaching, preaching,
counseling, and the Reformers Unanimous program,
we have personally witnessed what the light of the
Gospel can do for those that will receive it. We praise
the Lord that in 2013—
Parade of Nations during our
Missions Conference 2013
• Our church is now actively supporting
six missionary families.
• Four new families along with
several single adults were
added to our congregation.
• IBV is actively
seeking the Lord
for a co-pastor who
will eventually take
over the ministry.
These are just a few of the
many victories that are the
result of US Missions and
church planting efforts. It
is making a difference for
eternity!
* US Census Bureau 2012
** Hispanic Churches in American Public Life National Survey
Reseeding America – Summer, 2014
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The Importance of
Hispanic Church
Planting in America
“Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8).
The Hispanic population in the United
States is rapidly approaching 60 million.
We come in second only to Mexico with
the second largest Spanish-speaking
population in the world. America has
more Spanish-speaking people than all
of the Central American
countries put together. One
out of every four children
born in the United States
today is Hispanic. We have
a nation within a nation,
a culture within a culture.
Although the majority of
Hispanic people have come
to America looking for the
“American Dream,” their
most desperate need is to come to know
Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. The
need is great, the laborers are few, and
Hispanic church planting in America is the
answer. If we do not reach them, who will?
All across America we have seen the false
cults going all out to reach the Hispanic
community and start churches that teach
false doctrine. Many religious groups are
investing large amounts of resources and
people into their Hispanic ministries and
some are even recruiting Hispanic pastors
from other countries and sponsoring
them to be here and do the work. I have
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Reseeding America – Summer, 2014
personally seen this and remain with
a perplexing question. What are we as
fundamental, independent Baptists doing
to reach the Hispanic peoples of America?
We need missionaries who can speak the
Spanish language to reach these Latin
people. We need churches
that will stand with and
support Spanish-speaking
missionaries to go and start
Hispanic churches across
America.
Allow me to share our story
with you. Several years ago,
after spending almost 27
years as missionaries in
Mexico, the Lord began to
burden our hearts for the Hispanic people
in America. As we traveled across America
and saw the great need, we would wonder
who will reach them. Where is a church we
could recommend them to attend? As we
visited churches, pastors would ask if we
would one day consider coming back to the
United States to start a Hispanic church.
Most of them knew of the health problems
that Barbara and I had been through for
several years and saw this as an answer to a
problem. Even one of our doctors in Mexico
recommended we consider returning to
the United States for health reasons. Yes,
we would consider it but there were two
things that held us back from making the
decision. The first thing that held us back
was our love for our people and our desire
to be there in Mexico. Second, and if I may
be honest, that second thing was fear. It was
the fear of losing our support and no longer
being considered missionaries. God dealt
with my heart on both issues. The Lord
reminded me of a promise I had made to
Him years ago. “I’ll go anywhere you want
me to go, Lord,” and I had to say, “Yes” again.
As far as the fear was concerned, “Who do
you trust?” and the answer had to be “You,
Lord.” The decision was made but it was
a decision to continue on as missionaries
planting Hispanic churches. We returned
to the United States in the summer of 2009
and we are thankful for the churches and
pastors who trusted that God was at work
in our lives and that it was His will to use us
to start a Hispanic church here.
We moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, to begin
our first work because we knew of a few
Spanish families living there that we had
led to Christ years before. We started in the
lobby of a car wash with 13 in attendance
for our first service. We quickly outgrew
the car wash and moved into a storefront
building. That didn’t last long either as
we continued to grow. We then moved to
the property of Heritage Baptist Church
where Pastor Joe Taylor allowed us to use
one of their buildings. Within six months
we had outgrown that facility and the Lord
opened the door for us to purchase an old
church property in the downtown area of
Fort Smith. We obtained the 5,000 sq. ft.
building, which needed many updates and
repairs. It was reasonably priced and we
1st meeting place - Car Wash
Reseeding America – Summer, 2014
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2nd meeting place - Storefront
were able with outside
help and the faithful
giving of our people to
pay off the debt in three
years. I believe the Lord
honored the fact that we
started out supporting
two missionaries as we
taught our people the
importance of Faith
Promise
Missions.
Many have been saved
and baptized and our
people continue to grow.
Although our numbers
may fluctuate for various
reasons, we still see an
average service with
around 65 in attendance.
We are training our
people to do the work
of the ministry and we
are excited to see their
enthusiasm as they get
involved in the Lord’s
ministry.
3nd meeting place - House
4th meeting place - church
Editor’s note: Since this
article was first written,
God has provided a pastor
for the Iglesia Bautista
Biblica Fundamental (Fundamental Bible Baptist Church) in Fort Smith, Arkansas. José
Chargoy has just assumed the duties of pastor in May 2014. God has also provided a new
location for Ed and Barbara O’Brien to begin a church in North Carolina. They already have
a church building given to them in which to start. The O’Briens will be required to regain
support that they have lost over the past four years in order to effectively plant another
church. Please consider these church planting missionaries to Hispanics in America for your
next conference and investment in missions.
Ed and Barbara O’Brien have been church planting missionaries with BIMI since June 1982.
Please pray for more laborers to start Hispanic churches across America. Pray for churches
that will see the need, have the burden, and faithfully support the laborers God calls to fill
this need.
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Reseeding America – Summer, 2014
Planting Hispanic Churches
in Las Vegas, Nevada
The Jorge Noriega family are church planters with Reseeding America
who are reaching the Hispanic Community in Las Vegas, Nevada. This family
has now planted two Hispanic churches in the city and mentored two more
men to plant churches in Las Vegas. Bob and Jennifer Larson were recently in
Nevada and assisted Pastor Noriega in the search for a more permanent meeting
place for their newest church plant. God blessed the effort and they were able
to find a suitable building. It is a warehouse/executive office building with the
layout and budget exactly as needed. There is room for an auditorium, Sunday
school and nursery as well as fellowship and foyer areas. No remodeling will be
necessary and it is also located in the very heart of North Las Vegas, surrounded
by Spanish-speaking communities. How exciting it is to see what God is doing
through this ministry and this church planter in such a needy place!
There are some needs that you can help supply for this Hispanic church plant—
50 chairs at a cost of $20 each,
1 sign at the cost of $1,200,
1 refurbished refrigerator for $200.
We would appreciate any help given
financially toward acquiring the above items
for the new church building. Please send
funds for the above items to Reseeding
America Fund # 553 (Noriega Church
Plant), Baptist International Missions, Inc.,
P.O. Box 9215, Chattanooga, TN 37412.
Reseeding America – Summer, 2014
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by Richard Hurst
Anyone who knows his Bible can tell
you that according to Ephesians 2:8, 9
and other references, salvation is by
grace and not by works, which includes
the work of baptism. The following
account is about as close as you can get
to being saved by “baptism.”
Our family has been living at D&D
Missionary Homes in St. Petersburg,
Florida, while raising support to go to
the Miami, Florida, area to start Hispanic
churches. After becoming burdened
by the need around us and rather than
wait until all the support came in to go
to Miami, we decided to start a Hispanic
church right where we were.
Even before we had started the church
here in “St. Pete” (as the locals call it),
we had already been ministering to
some Hispanics in the area. When
people found out we were going to raise
support while starting a church, they
were a little skeptical at first but then
started giving us possible contacts of
Hispanic people.
One gentleman gave me an address of
a Cuban lady as a possible contact, but
when I went to the home, it ended up
being the wrong address. I knew you
couldn’t take the Gospel to the wrong
address and I started witnessing to
Ofelia
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Reseeding America – Summer, 2014
the gentleman who opened the door.
Though he didn’t trust Christ as his
Savior, he was receptive and invited me
to come back at another time and then
told me of another family on his street
that he thought was Hispanic. When I
got to that home, it turned out that they
were from India and not Hispanic at all.
The Indian family then pointed to
another house on the street and told
me that the family that lived there was
from Ecuador. That got my attention
since we labored for fifteen years in
that country planting churches. When
we got to the house, there was a man
outside washing his car and we asked
him, “Your neighbor told us you are
from Ecuador. Is that true?” “No,”
he replied, “I am a transplanted New
Yorker originally from Puerto Rico!
You’re not Jehovah’s Witnesses are you?
Because I hate JWs!” We assured him
that we were not JWs but that we were
Christians there to help him. That day
Joe and I became good friends. We
met his wife, Ofelia, the next time we
visited and started talking about the
church we started. They eventually
came and Ofelia was saved. I asked Joe
if he wanted to get saved but he told
me that he wasn’t ready yet. Ofi (as we
affectionately call her) approached me
Joe
shortly after getting saved and asked
if she could now get baptized. It didn’t
take long for me to answer the question
and the next week she was baptized.
After the baptism I noticed that Joe,
Ofi’s husband, was crying. I asked him
what was the matter and he said to me,
“Pastor, I think I got it now!” “What
do you mean by that?” I replied. “I got
it,” he said. “What Ofi did was just a
symbol of what happened on the inside
and while she was getting baptized I
knew that was something I should be
doing too. Right then I repented of
my sins and asked Christ to save me!”
I figured he was telling the truth after
having heard it from me several times
in church. “So,” I asked, “when are you
going to get baptized?” “Soon!” was his
reply and a few weeks later I had the
privilege of baptizing him. Joe more
than likely was under conviction way
before Ofi’s baptism but trusted Christ
as his Savior when she was baptized;
therefore, he was saved “by” baptism.
Joe and Ofi are now our most faithful
members at church, often inviting
their Hispanic friends and family,
and Ofi has become a self-appointed
“encourager” as she tells me and others
every single week that God sent the
Hurst family from Ecuador to her front
door in Florida just so she could get
saved. Although we weren’t necessarily
looking for her in the beginning, she
was truly “searching for us” and we
brought her the good news of the
Gospel. All the sacrifices we have made
by staying in the States, losing prayer
and financial support, struggling with
the different cultures, and at times
“inter-Hispanic culture clashes” were
worth it.
Oh, and by the way, the Cuban lady
that we were originally looking for
ended up coming to church and getting
saved too. I baptized her the very same
day that I baptized Joe. Exactly three
months later she went home to be with
the Lord.
Maggie, the Cuban lady being baptized
Reseeding America – Summer, 2014
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Churches Needed in Southwest Texas
I worked as a missionary with BIMI as the pastor of military churches in North
Dakota and Europe and then planted a church for military in Del Rio, Texas.
In 2012, after God provided a pastor for that church, I was invited to become
the pastor of a small church in Pumpville, Texas, about sixty-five miles from
Del Rio. Having seen a mission field there, I transferred from military to the
Reseeding America field. Pumpville is a deserted railroad town of the past that
provided a water pumping station for steam driven engines. In the early 1950s
when Diesel engines came into use, there was no need for trains to stop there
anymore. So the few people who were there moved away, but the Pumpville
Baptist Church remained active, ministering to the ranch owners and others
living within a fifty mile radius. I invited Dr. John Bailes to come and present
Faith Promise to our church in March of this year and though we only have an
average of 20 to 30 people, we had a good commitment and will be taking on
missionaries as God provides.
In visiting the extensive area that stretches along the border with Mexico,
I began to realize the vast need for churches in the small communities that
dot the landscape for hundreds of miles. In 2013 we started meeting with a
group of people in Dryden, Texas, and have since organized them as Dryden
Baptist Church. Dryden is about 25 miles from Pumpville and at present I am
conducting services in both churches. There are many other needs in other towns
with no Gospel being preached. I am burdened for the thousands of Mexican
people who have migrated to Texas and live along the border with no Gospelpreaching churches available to them. Please pray with me that God will speak
to the hearts of men He has called to preach to come to the southwestern border
towns and help us plant churches for the glory of God.
Rick and Jackie Bonds
West Texas Border Towns
Photo by
Vanherdehaage
First BIMI USA Church
Planter Honored
Bob Larson, Evertie Moore,
Dr. Lonnie Moore
Church Planter Evertie Moore was the very
first USA missionary with BIMI. Having been
inspired by the words of Dr. Harold Sightler,
who had just returned from a revival meeting
in Kentucky, Evertie answered the call to go.
Stepping out by faith, he had a vision and great
burden to reach the Appalachian Mountain
people of Kentucky with the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. It was there he set in to plant and
establish churches. On Sunday, February 9, 2014,
we took time to honor and thank him for his
faithfulness. It was a great privilege to present
him with his BIMI “50 Years of Service” pin at
his son’s church, Tabernacle Baptist Church,
Nicholasville, Kentucky, where Evertie still
teaches a new converts class. Praise God for
faithful men! Kenneth Richard “Dick” Miller
November 10, 1945 — April 24, 2014
On April 24, 2014, Kenneth Richard “Dick” Miller, a faithful servant of the
Lord, went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Richard graduated from Indiana Baptist College in 1974. He pastored in
Indiana, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Richard and his wife, Candy, moved to Rapid
City, South Dakota, to work with the Pioneer Bible Institute in 1985. They
were accepted as missionaries with Baptist International Missions in June 1986. He recently
celebrated 25 years as pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Billings, Montana. In addition to
his work as a pastor, he was also actively involved in the homeschool community, in nursing
home ministry, and in jail and prison ministries.
Reseeding America – Summer, 2014
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New BIMI Candidates With Reseeding America
The June Candidate School at BIMI was conducted the first week of June. There
were 78 candidates in the school going to all parts of the world. Three couples
joining with BIMI will be working with Reseeding America. Scott and Tricia
Crabtree and their family will be going out to plant a deaf church in Rochester,
New York. John and April McDaniel are headed for New Mexico to work with
Native Americans. They will be working on the Navajo reservation in the
northwestern section of the state to plant churches. Nathan and Karie Owens
and their family are presently restarting a church near Tyler, Texas, and then will
continue on restarting and planting churches in other needy areas.
These couples are on deputation at this time. If your church would consider
them for support or have them come for a meeting or missions conference, you
may contact them at their respective phone numbers and e-mail
addresses listed with their pictures.
Scott & Tricia Crabtree—Planting deaf
churches in metropolitan cities in America
Next deaf church plant scheduled for
Rochester, New York
Phone 865-314-0815 or 865-314-6926
Video Phone 614-515-5928
e-mail: [email protected]
John & April McDaniel—Planting churches to
reach Native Americans (Navajo) in New Mexico
Phone 562-900-7352
e-mail: [email protected]
Nathan & Karie Owens—Restarting and
planting churches in the USA
Presently restarting a church in
Whitehouse, Texas
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Phone 412-973-2363
e-mail: [email protected]
Reseeding America – Summer, 2014
New Church Plant in
Whitehouse, Texas
Longview Baptist Temple in Longview, Texas, was recently given a fully furnished
church building in the town of Whitehouse, Texas. This church had been closed for
some time. The Nathan Owens family, BIMI Reseeding America Church Planters,
are leading in this church plant process.
On Sunday, May 18, they opened the doors of Victory Baptist Church and
welcomed 39 people for their first service. The first baptism was held on Thursday,
May 22. The Owens family will assist this church in becoming organized and then
assist them in calling a permanent pastor. Nathan will then move on to restart
and plant other churches. Please pray for this church planter and his family. If
you would like to have the Owens present their ministry in your church, you may
contact them at 412-973-2363 or e-mail them at [email protected].
Reseeding America – Summer, 2014
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Recent Updates
from several of our Reseeding America Church Planters
Surprise, Arizona — We are thankful for what the
Lord is doing at Mountain Side Baptist Church in
Surprise, Arizona. In the past few weeks we have seen people
receive Christ as Savior, others who recently moved to our
area have joined the church, and some have committed to
believer’s baptism. The Lord has also answered prayer and
brought along a young man who is going to be heading up our
bus ministry and youth outreach to one of the poorest and neediest areas of the
entire Phoenix West Valley. We have been praying for the Lord to call laborers to
help with this ministry and are excited about the future prospects of it! Having
held our annual Faith Promise Missions Conference at the end of March, we
are continuing to reach the uttermost for the glory of God through worldwide
evangelization and missions. Tony Bulawa, Pastor Mountain Side Baptist Church
Dayton, Ohio — The LORD is truly gracious and merciful, renewing
His compassions every morning! The ministries to ladies, children,
and families continue through the weekly Ladies Bible Study, the
monthly ladies craft class with an applicable Bible lesson, monthly Joy Club
children’s meetings in two locations, and the every-two-months Friendship
Potluck dinners at our house. One child was baptized in January 2014; he was
saved in September 2013. We have not yet planted a Japanese-speaking church. Your prayers are needed and appreciated.
Tom & Renee Border Missionaries to the Japanese in Ohio,
Jackson, Mississippi — As soon as the invitation
began, a gentleman in the service yelled out loud,
“I want to be saved.” He had listened intently to
the message on “God’s Precious Gift” and could not contain
himself any longer. Henry Lee Love happily received Jesus
Christ as his personal Savior at age 75. He had never heard
a clear presentation of the Gospel. During that same service
another older man was saved and also a 35-year-old man who
was in town visiting his family. I am reminded of the Scripture
in 2 Peter 3:9, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but
that all should come to repentance.
Bill Fluker, Pastor Grace & Mercy Baptist Church
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Reseeding America – Summer, 2014
Albertville, Alabama — The first week in January 2014, we began
a new deaf ministry in Albertville Baptist Church in Albertville,
Alabama. Dr. Ken Love is a missionary with BIMI in the Reseeding America
Ministry and pastor of the church. He has a great burden for the deaf in
his area. When he met a deaf man in November on
visitation, he called us to share the news and said that
he wished we could come and help him start a deaf
ministry. We had been working in Huntsville, Alabama,
for approximately one and a half years establishing a deaf
ministry in the Huntsville Bible Baptist Church with Ed
Deel as pastor. We were ready for the Lord to lead us
where He needed us to go next. It is amazing how the
Lord brings things together. Through our relationship
with a deaf club in Huntsville, God began putting
people in our path that lived in the Albertville area and
were looking for a church with a ministry to the deaf.
This was all happening in December and we were first
trying to find someone to help Pastor Love to begin this
ministry. However, through circumstances that God brought about, we began to
realize that He wanted us to go and begin this ministry to the deaf.
Dr. Love’s burden for that first deaf man was so deep and strong that he
continually encouraged us of the importance of meeting this man. We visited
his house many times with little success until the weekend of February 15. As
a result of our meeting, he was in both services on the next Sunday. Since that
date, we have visited many deaf (the old fashioned way—sometimes going back
and then going back again). We now have five deaf attending faithfully with
other prospects being visited. We are excited with Pastor Love and his wife, June,
hoping to see others reached with the Gospel. We have begun sign language
classes with hope of training those who will continue this ministry when God
leads us to another field. Pray for God to help us perform this ministry under
the leadership of the Holy Spirit and Pastor Ken Love.
1 Corinthians 3:8–9: Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every
man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers
together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. Willie & Shirley Rowan Missionaries to USA Deaf
Frederick, Maryland — We held our Charter
Signing Service for our church on the first Sunday
in April. We had three families and a college age young
lady to sign the charter. One of the families that signed the
charter came to us from our outreach to the local Community
College’s ASL Student Group. We meet with the ASL group
twice a week.
Bill & Linnea MacCallum BIMI Missionaries to the Deaf
Reseeding America – Summer, 2014
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Change Service Requested
Baptist International Missions, Inc.
P.O. Box 9215
Chattanooga, TN 37412
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Permit No. 88
Chattanooga, TN
37412
Consider Reseeding America as a
Monthly Missions Project.
•
When your church supports Reseeding America on a regular
monthly basis, you are providing “start-up” funds for new churches
to be planted and churches to be restarted.
•
Every dollar that is sent will be used to assist new church-starts here
in America and churches that need to be reopened or restarted.
•
A supporting church will be able to see how this special fund is
being used when they visit our website at reseedingamerica.com.
•
Please direct all funds to Reseeding America Fund #553, Baptist
International Missions, Inc., P.O. Box 9215, Chattanooga, TN 37412.

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